


Locker Love

by GaySquidBoy



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Cute Ending, High School AU, Locker Notes, M/M, Secret Admirer, cute shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 08:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11157654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaySquidBoy/pseuds/GaySquidBoy
Summary: A cute high school AU for Newt and Hermann, mostly just fluff and cute stuff.





	Locker Love

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this all day cause i love wasting my time <3

Newt and Hermann have known each other since middle school, and while they might have started out with a rivalry at science fair, their relationship quickly grew to a close friendship.  
  
The two of them are now battling high school together, newt can make new friends and socialize better than Hermann. Newt’s amateur tattoos and jokes draw people to him in a way that Hermann is never able replicate. Much to Newts distress Hermann lets onto the fact that he feels unlovable and the only time anyone will ever ask him out is for a joke, during late night sleepovers and text sessions Hermann slowly opens up about his past failed attempts to make friends and confess his fondness for people, and how they all failed.  
  
Newt tries to convince Hermann that he’s great and that their school is just full of fools who can’t see it yet. Hermann chuckles and says that newt telling him he’s great doesn’t count because he’s his friend. Newt scowls and chucks a pillow at Hermann’s adorable face. But newt can’t stop thinking about how to get Hermann to believe him about how great, smart, funny, handsome, and sweet he is.  
  
Thus, newts plan is born, he feels a little guilty about the lying but he doesn’t stop because he wants to make Hermann happy. So newt writes up a small note telling Hermann that he has a crush on him and thinks he’s really cute from a secret admirer, given it does seem a little juvenile, but it’s a classic approach. He slips the note into Hermann’s locker before the bell rings. When lunch rolls around newt is wondering if Hermann found the note yet, he probably did because Hermann puts away his chemistry textbook before lunch. As newt sits at their table wondering if Hermann will be happy about the note he doesn’t notice Hermann come up beside him, but shakes from his thoughts when he sits. Newt throws him a smile and is about to start saying something when he sees Hermann’s slight frown. Newt inquiries about what’s wrong, and Hermann pulls out a note, his note, and passes it to him. Hermann sighs and explains he found this ‘prank’ in his locker probably by some bored jock. Newt reads the note and tries to pretend he’s never seen it before, he butts in asking how Hermann knows it’s a prank and not genuine. Hermann chuckles and gets out his lunch and responds with a simple, ‘well it has my name on it, I would assume an accidental locker mix up but with my name on it thus it must be a prank’, newt’s heart sinks. Newt tries to make Hermann laugh and cheer up for the rest of the lunch.  
  
Newt goes home that night and decides he need to kick his plan into overdrive. He then spends hour after hour writing and rewriting notes to Hermann trying to make the perfect one, that can convey his fondness without getting to personal and giving himself away as the writer. Newt looks over his final note to Hermann that has turned into more of a letter at this point, it talks about the secret admirer seeing Hermann around school and admiring his intellect, it goes on to compliment his smile and how they don’t mean to creep him out or anything but wanted to tell him in person but are too scared. Newt hopes that this more specific and heartfelt letter will make Hermann believe that he is amazing and deserves to be happy. Newt tries to ignore the fluttering in this guts, he doesn’t exactly know what or why he’s doing this, well he tells himself it’s to make his best friend happy because he’s great and deserves it, but at the same time this ‘secret admirer’ love note is starting to feel a little too personal and he can’t ignore how sweaty his hands are. Newt sighs and folds the note and puts it into his backpack and heads to bed, his dreams are filled with the unrequested but not unwelcome imagines of Hermann’s laugh and smile, and his warm brown eyes.  
  
The next day newt makes excuses the whole day about why he doesn’t put the note in Hermann’s locker, from too many people in the hall, to it didn’t ‘feel’ like the right moment. The day ends without newt putting the letter in Hermann’s locker, two more days pass and its Friday morning and newt kicks himself and tells himself to get over this anxiety and during first hour he goes to the bathroom and takes the letter with him and heads to his destination, looking up and down the hall he takes a deep breath and slides the letter in. He turns and goes back to class with his ears burning red for a reason he’s still not willing to admit. He checks his phone for texts and tries to calm is nerves as the hours pass till lunch.  
  
At lunch newt uses every ounce of will power and strength he can muster to act normal and casual, newt tells Hermann about the English test he bombed in class, Hermann smirks and tells him reading the book would help with that, newt tries to act hurt and explains he’s a ‘slow reader’. They both smile and the conversation hits a comfortable silence and newt knows Hermann is about to say something and braces himself. Hermann looks around and then tells newt that he got another note, newt asks what kind of note, Hermann responds with ‘in my locker’, and newt nods and says ‘like the secret admirer thing’, Hermann puffs air out his nose and says ‘Ya I guess, well I think it might actually be real, this note is kind of specific and weird, like I don’t see a jock going to this effort to mess with me, well at least I hope not’. Newt asks to read the note then slowly scans his eyes over it, asking Hermann halfway down who he thinks it could be that wrote it, Hermann shrugs, ‘no idea at all, you have any guesses’. Newt finishes ‘reading’ the note and puts his hand on his mouth thinking ‘well I think it’s definitely someone with good taste’ newt winks at Hermann trying to retain the same air of comical playfulness he always has. Hermann tries to look annoyed but fails and smiles at newt.  
  
Their lives went on as normal, school, homework, and hanging out, with the added factor of newt secretly writing a love note every few weeks and slipping it into Hermann’s locker. Small notes saying how smart he was or comparing him to a wild flower, sappy as fuck shit newt was almost disgusted with himself for so easily writing. At about the 6th note Hermann nonchalantly joked that normally people use texting or something so the other person could respond, and newt asked him what he would say in response. Hermann leaned back in his chair and thought, then sighed and said ‘no idea, do you have any ideas’ and then it was newts turn to think, he had quite more to think about because he had to start wondering what he would like to hear back from his notes to Hermann. ‘the truth I guess, whatever that is’ newt settles on as his response.  
  
Newt wakes up from a shallow sleep just after dozing off after what felt like hours of not being able to fall asleep, he is tired and annoyed but can’t ignore the reason he can’t sleep, he needs to admit to himself, he loves Hermann. He feels jealous of the ‘secret admirer’ who makes Hermann smile when he wants to tell those things to Hermann and make him believe them, he wants to be with Hermann all the time, every time he leaves newt’s next thought is about when he will see him again. Newt rubs his face and breaths out deeply, his breath rattling against his ribcage, to match the fluttering feeling in his stomach. He closes his eyes and turns over, what is he going to do.  
  
After a few days thought newt comes up with a plan to make one more love note but this time at the end leave a location for Hermann to leave his response at. It sounds like an ok plan, to him. So, newt sets out to pour as much of his heart out as he can while remaining anonymous, he picks the back corner of the library as the drop off location for Hermann, not many kids go in there and the note most likely won’t be found before newt can retrieve it. Newt tries not to overthink but he can’t help but wonder how Hermann would react to finding out that it was newt writing the love notes all along, to many bad outcomes play over in his mind. The day he’s decided rolls around and he places his note in Hermann’s locker and is all a waiting game from then. His classes seem to blur by, his responses mechanical and without real thought. Lunch is stressful as he gives Hermann advice on if he should respond to the note or not. ‘do what you want to, and what feels right’ newt reassures him. As the lunch bell signals the beginning of the next class, Hermann gives him a smile and decides ‘I think I will write a response’.  
  
  
When the final bell rings newt hides behind a corner and looks for Hermann, seeing him enter the library and then leave, newt breaths and knows he should be fast so he doesn’t make Hermann wait to long. He goes in and find the note easily he puts it into his backpack and decides he will read it later. He finds Hermann at their normal meet up spot after school and they talk till it’s time to split up and go home.  
  
  
At home newt stalls till he can’t handle it and pulls out Hermann’s response, and it leaves newt’s heart hammering “I am flattered by everything you have said and it has brightened many of my days, your kind words are sweeter than I feel I deserve but I would like to inform you that I already have someone to which I feel very strongly towards. I hope you find someone who makes you as happy as you deserve.” Newt rereads it three times and puts it down and tries to calm himself, but he can’t stop running it over and over in his mind, Hermann is already in love with someone, who, when did this happen, and why didn’t he tell newt, his best friend. He’s hurt. He regrets this whole thing he should have stopped after the first note or never done that stupid thing in the first place. He doesn’t get much sleep that night.  
  
The next day Newt goes through the motions, he wakes from his few hours of sleep, he goes to class, he jokes and talks to everyone but inside he’s still thinking about Hermann and how his supposed best friend didn’t tell him he liked someone. At lunch, he tells Hermann he has an English test he needs to retake, and then practically runs away not looking into the taller boy’s eyes feeling that if he did he’s give himself away and show how hurt he was feeling.  
  
Once outside the lunch room Newt makes a sharp left and speed walks to library and goes into a silent workroom. Slumped forward in an unconformable chair Newt feels his face become warm and the telltale pressure behind his eyes wells up. Trying not to let any tears fall, he chastises himself for acting like a baby and decides to write one more letter. With only slightly hands he pulls out paper and a pen and writes ‘Dear Hermann, upon your response it seems that I’ve acted quite the fool, if you already like someone my advances would be very much unwelcome. This person much be very special to have caught your attention. I would have done anything for you. I wish you all the happiness Hermann, I truly do. But I’ll stop writing these letters if not for you for myself because it kills hurts me to know I’ll never have your affections. I hope you tell this person how you feel and they treat you like the gem you are.’  
  
Once he’s writing his he feels more empty, not better, just less likely to cry if he sees Hermann again. Feeling like he needs to put his self-inflicted heart break behind him he heads off to Hermann’s locker with ten minutes of lunch left. Sliding the letter in through the metal grate he lets out a sigh and heads off his next period instead of lunch; he feels the needs time to prepare himself to face Hermann and that if faced to the boy he loves right now he couldn’t keep the quiver out of his voice and thinking his eyes might still be slightly red.  
  
The rest of the day moves slowly but also too fast because with every second passing he’s getting closer to seeing Hermann. The final bell rings and Newt goes to their meeting spot, he waits and when Hermann gets there he seems distracted, this emboldens Newt into thinking Herms won’t notice if he’s off or not. He asks  
  
“Whats up Herms?” and the response surprises him because Hermann says  
  
“Nothing just the secret admire, I’m a… going to say after for a bit and right another response, so you can… go on ahead”. Very confused Newt says ‘sure’ and that he’ll head on home. Watching Hermann head back inside Newt’s mind was reeling, he couldn’t figure out why Herms was leaving another letter, he hadn’t said anything about that in his last response. Deciding that there was no way he could go home and wait till the morning to get the letter Herman was writing at this very moment; Newt goes to a door way far enough away the Herman won’t see him unless he was looking, and that he can duck back into to completely hind himself if he does look that direction.  
  
Newt waits what feels like hours but what was probably only 30 minutes or so, his hands sweaty and head still buzzing with ideas on what Herman was writing. Then Hermann walks out looking distracted, eyes never leaving the ground. Newt watches him walk out the front gate and then follows him with his eyes till he could see the boy’s retreating back anymore. Taking a deep breath Newt bolts for the library, barely able to stop himself from running through the school.  
  
He stops in front of the book shelf he had specified last time and to his surprise; yes, there was a new letter, just like the last time. When all his hope away of ever getting Hermann to like him back we buried six feet under. Reaching out with shaking hands Newt picks up this new note, partially a letter, it feels much thicker and its sealed with tape. In bold black pen it says ‘for dejected and anonymous’, gods Herm left another note, Newt needed to read it but he was also scared, the other boy held his heart and he could easily tear it apart even more. He wanted to read this letter so bad, but not at school, he knew he was an emotional person and would rather be alone for whatever happens.  
  
The walk home seemed longer than ever, he hardly ever walks alone since Hermann and him live just a few blocks apart. He half wanted to run home to read the note as fast as he could and the other part of him wanted to drag him feet, maybe stop by the convent store to waste time so he would never have to read it. This caused him to switch from walking to jogging then back again, probably looking like an idiot but not caring.  
  
Once home, he greeted him mother who was preparing dinner, and then went straight to his room and looked his door, sitting on his bed he pulled Hermann’s letter from his backpack. Taking a steadying breath Newton breaks the tape seal and folds it open, in Hermann’s neat hand writing it says  
  
‘Dear, Anonymous. It troubles me greatly that I have hurt you, yet I have as much control over my own heart as I do the tides of the ocean or the direction the wind blows. For my treacherous heart has a mind of its own. I wish I could return your affections, I really truly do, but I’ve simply fallen in love with the one person who will never return my feelings. And yes, you said, I your last note, that I should tell them but I can’t do that here; if I was to tell him and lose his friendship from my confession it would break me, make my life not worth living. Losing his friendship would be losing the sun and all the stars in the sky. He is one true and only friend, my best friend, and that is all I can ask for, trying to take more would be pushing my luck. I still don’t know why he even stays my friend after all I’ve put him through. I don’t even know why I’m writing all this, you most likely don’t care and probably won’t even come back for this letter, why would you. I just wanted to try and explain myself a little more and once say I’m sorry. Yours Sincerely, H.’  
  
After reading this Newt laid back gulping down big lungfuls of air, making since of what was written. Hermann was in love with his friend, his self-proclaimed ‘best friend’. Laying back he didn’t even realize tears were spilling from his eyes, all he could do was keep thinking ‘Hermann loves his best friend’ and the accompanying thought ‘I, Newton Geiszler, am Hermann’s best friend’  
  
“Hermann’s in love with me” Newt repeated softly to his ceiling. He sits up with a grin splitting his face. He pushes the letter into his back jeans pocket and pulls open his door just thinking ‘I need to see Hermann; I need to talk to him’. In the blur, he tells his mother something about a school project and how he needs to go to Hermann’s house and then he’s out the door tearing it down the street. Hermann’s house is a nice two story, white picket fence home, but it’s almost always empty with both his mother and father out of town for business meetings. Newt knows for a fact that tonight is no different and that Hermann is alone so he won’t be throwing rocks at windows fruitlessly, he’ll be ringing the doorbell; and that’s just what he did, before he could chicken out he smashed that mother fucking doorbell, and waited. The muffled dingdong felt more like an executioner’s ax swinging down at him putting his neck out on the line to find out if it’s true, if Hermann feels the same way as him.  
  
When the door opens and Hermann smiles at newt his mind blanks and he wants to run but Hermann says I and asks “To what do I owe the pleasure”, a classic romantic saying perfect for Hermann, but newt is still struggling to remember to breath and can only a muster a pitiful “to hang”. But it works and Hermann smiles and leads the way further into his house.  
  
Hermann would usually be studying or doing homework that’s due in weeks but he’s always willing and wanting to drop it all to spend time with newt. They end up in the living room, Hermann asks what newt wants to do, newt shrugs and makes a noise while trying not to look Hermann in the eyes to long. Hermann ends up turning the TV on and putting on one of their favorites, a 24/7 science documentary channel, its mostly reruns but they still love it. They sit and watch for a while but after the third time of Hermann trying to talk to newt and newt barely able to muster more than a few words, Hermann turns down the show and asks newt in a serious tone  
  
“Newt, are you ok, you seem off” newt opens his mouth and tries to respond but he can’t he just.  
  
“Hermann, I- I’m, anonymous’ the words struggle and rush from his lips. And Hermann turns to him and cocks a brow and asks ‘what’, and newt knows he can’t stop, can’t back out, he must finish what he started all those months ago. “Hermann I’m the one who wrote you the letters because I, wanted to tell you how I felt about you, well how I feel, because I feel what I wrote in the letters, ya well, umm, I’m anonymous, but I guess not anymore,” newt trails off and breaths in and looks up at Hermann.  
  
Hermann doesn’t just look like a deer in the headlights, he looks like the car already hit him. Hermann’s face is deathly pale and the silence seems to stretch on for longer than it does, as they sit next to each other on the couch as the TV plays quietly off to their side. Newt was waiting for Hermann to start talking but he just keeps staring and looks like he’s about to start hyperventaling so Newt steals himself to stop acting like a coward  
  
“and I read what you said about already liking someone, and in your note you said that it was your best friend and not to presume anything but, um….” Hermann opens and then closes it like a fish and then says  
  
“Newton, I… I’m sorry to have-um- that I made you feel uncomfortable…” Hermann’s usually strong voice seems to waver with unshed tears.  
  
“ugh, shit Herms, I went about this all wrong, I practically made you cry, god I’m the worst. Hermann, I started writing those letters to show you that you were perfect and dear to me but then it became something much more, I meant every single word I wrote because they are true. Herman you’re so perfect and somewhere along the way I feel in love with you and I only wrote my feelings because I was a coward and didn’t want to lose you. Reading that you already liked someone broke my heart but then that person was me all along; I came straight here to finally do something instead of hiding in the shadows” Thought out his whole confession Newt stared into Hermann’s dark brown eyes convening his honestly, and at the end he takes Hermann’s hands in his own and gives them a reassuring squeeze. A few tears roll down Hermann’s cheeks and he lets out a very shaky breath  
  
“In light of all this I think it’s safe to say I’ve been acting like a blind coward and a fool” He then leans forward slightly “you are my sunshine Newton, I love you” with that the two boys pulled each other into a tight embrace like two planets caught in each other’s gravitational pull. Once both were feeling less raw and emotional Newt pulled back out of the hug and asked hushly  
  
“can I kiss you?” This caused a blush to flush across Hermann’s checks and ears, yet his obvious embarrassment didn’t stop him from replying with a whispered  
  
“please”  
  
And that was all the assurance it took for Newt to lean forward and lock lips with this perfect boy. It was sweet, both hesitant and closed mouthed. When they pulled away Hermann had a beautiful smile plastered on his face.  
  
“what?” Newt asks a little giggly from how happy he was, still a little shocked with how perfect everything turned out  
  
“oh nothing, just I had always hoped and fantasized that my first kiss would be with you but I never thought it would really happen” And that slightly floored Newt, Hermann had never even kissed anyone else.  
  
“Wow, you’re so perfect” Newt leans in for another chaste kiss “I’m yours” another kiss "forever"


End file.
